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Evander Kane is returning to the Winnipeg Jets lineup, but insists he was a healthy scratch for Wednesday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Instead of diffusing the situation, Kane maintained he was ready to play and felt good after the warm-up.

“That feeling wasn’t mutual, so I don’t know what that meant,” said Kane. “I felt healthy enough to play. My definition of a healthy scratch is a healthy player not playing. That was my interpretation. It was pretty obvious that’s what it was.

“It is some sort of a disagreement in a sense but I don’t think it’s as big of a matter as maybe some people are making it seem. It was definitely surprising to me.”

Jets head coach Claude Noel has spoken with Kane and said while he respects his opinion, he didn’t agree with it.

“For me, Evander was a coach’s decision, there’s a protocol to be followed and for me, it was an injury-related decision,” said Noel. “I understand he disagrees, that’s his opinion. The conversation with Evander just needs to stay between Evander and I.

Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec is back in net for the first time since he was pulled early in the second period of Saturday’s 5-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.

“I didn’t play the last two games, so I have to look for a solid effort,” said Pavelec. “It’s going to be a tough game. (The Predators) have been playing very well lately. We need to find a win to win.”

Carter Hutton will get the call for the Predators after going 2-0 so far against the Jets this season.

There was also an unexpected Jacob Trouba sighting at the end of the morning skate as the rookie blue-liner did some light work with strength and conditioning coach Lee Stubbs.

“Jacob is progressing well,” said Noel. “He’s not going to be a player for a little while, but we’re happy to see him out there. He’s been on the ice a couple of days. It will be a while before practicing with us.”